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Nigel and Gina Easterbrook
20 February 2025
★★★★★
Thanks so much for your fantastic service. Highly highly recommend to all. Nigel and Gina Easterbrook.
Guide
Fireplace glossary
The words you’ll see on spec sheets and quotes, in plain English.
- Authorised wood burner
- A wood burner on the Ministry for the Environment’s list. It emits less than 1.5 g of particles per kg of dry wood and is at least 65% efficient. Only these can go in on properties under 2 hectares.
- Clean air model (ULEB, urban)
- The version of a wood burner that meets the national standard for town sections.
- Rural model
- A wood burner version for properties of 2 hectares or more, where the national standard doesn’t apply.
- kW (kilowatt)
- Heat output. A bigger room, or a colder or less insulated house, needs more kW.
- Heating area
- The maker’s guide to the floor area a fire can heat, in m². Insulation and ceiling height change it.
- Efficiency
- How much of the fuel’s energy ends up as heat in your room. Town-section wood burners must be at least 65%.
- Emissions (g/kg)
- Grams of smoke particles per kilogram of dry wood burnt. Lower is cleaner.
- Star rating
- A gas fire’s energy rating. More stars means more efficient.
- Freestanding
- A fire that stands in the room on legs, a pedestal or a base.
- Inbuilt
- A fire built into a wall or cavity, often with just the glass front showing.
- Insert
- A fire that fits into an existing fireplace opening, with a new flue up the old chimney.
- Zero clearance
- A fire designed to be built into a timber-framed cavity, with the clearances and venting the maker specifies.
- Multi-fuel
- A burner that can burn coal as well as wood. These are treated differently from wood burners under the national standard.
- Flue
- The pipe that takes smoke or exhaust out of the house. See flues explained.
- Flue kit
- The flue pipe, casings, flashing and cowl that go with a particular fire.
- Flue shield (heat shield)
- A shield around the flue or behind the fire that lets it sit closer to a wall.
- Direct vent (balanced flue)
- A sealed gas fire flue that brings fresh air in from outside and sends exhaust out through the same flue.
- Power vent
- A gas fire flue with a fan, so it can run sideways or further than a natural flue.
- Clearances
- The minimum distances from the fire and flue to walls, timber, mantels and TVs, set by the maker.
- Hearth (floor protector)
- The non-combustible base a fire sits on, protecting the floor from heat and embers.
- Firebox
- The chamber inside the fire where the wood or flame burns.
- Airwash
- Air directed down the inside of the glass to help keep it clear.
- Wetback
- A water jacket in a wood fire that helps heat your hot water cylinder. See wetbacks explained.
- Water booster
- Another name for a wetback-style system that boosts hot water from the fire.
- Building consent
- Council approval to install a wood burner. Every install is inspected.
- Code Compliance Certificate (CCC)
- The council’s sign-off that consented work was done to the Building Code. Insurers and buyers ask for it.
- Gas Safety Certificate
- Issued by the gasfitter for all gasfitting work.
- Certificate of Compliance
- Issued for general and high-risk gasfitting work.
- LPG
- Bottled gas, for homes without a natural gas connection.
- Healthy Homes heating standard
- The rule that a rental’s main living room has fixed heating able to reach 18°C. See Healthy Homes heating.
Good to Know
Common questions
What does ULEB mean?
Ultra-low emission burner. It’s another name for a clean air wood burner model that meets the standard for town sections.
What is a zero clearance fire?
A fire designed to be built into a timber-framed cavity, with the clearances and venting the maker specifies.
Questions?
Talk to a local expert
Free advice and an accurate installation quote from our team in Tauriko, Tauranga.
What happens next
- 1Tell us about your homeWe reply within 2 working hours to messages, or call us now.
- 2Free site checkWe look at where it’ll go, the flue route and the rules for your section.
- 3One clear quoteA written price for the fire, flue and installation.
- 4InstalledUsually 4–6 weeks after you say yes. Most of that is council consent, which we handle. The install is usually one day.